From Gartner to ISO and NIST—see what each validation really tells you (and what it doesn't).
IDV vendors tout Magic Quadrants, iBeta certificates, SOC-2 reports—but each validates different things. Understanding what each evaluator actually measures is crucial for making informed vendor decisions.
| Evaluator / Cert | Primary Focus | Test Method | Frequency | Public Transparency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Gartner MQ | Vision & Execution | Analyst surveys & client calls | Annual | Summary report |
ISO 27001 | Information Security Mgmt | Documentation audit | 3-year cycle | Cert only |
NIST FRVT | 1:1 & 1:N Face Accuracy | Government image dataset | Ongoing updates | Full leaderboard |
iBeta PAD | Liveness / Spoof | Lab spoof attempts | On demand | Pass/Fail letter |
Arbitra Benchmark | Fraud Resilience + UX | Real + synthetic IDs, pen-tests | Annual + ad-hoc | Scorecard & report |
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While traditional certifications focus on documentation and controlled lab environments, Arbitra's penetration tests and benchmarks fill critical gaps by testing against real-world attack vectors.
Advanced AI-generated faces and documents that bypass traditional liveness detection
Network-level manipulation and mobile app security vulnerabilities
How systems perform when under active fraud attempts, not just clean test data
Complete validation coverage
Essential for compliance and risk management frameworks
Specific algorithm performance in controlled conditions
Understanding vendor positioning and strategic direction
The only testing that simulates actual attack conditions
No single validation tells the complete story. The most secure IDV implementations combine compliance certifications with independent, adversarial testing to ensure real-world fraud resilience.
